Tag Archives: drug addiction

Help for Addiction

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Addiction help comes in 2 forms: elimination and creation.

Most people think that beating an addiction is an act of elimination. It’s not. Overcoming a drug or alcohol addiction is about creating something.

When we strip away the drugs and the alcohol from the life of the addict, there is a huge void left over. This void is more than just spiritual. In traditional recovery, 12 step programs attempt to diagnose addiction as a spiritual malady and then fix the problem with a spiritual solution.

This helps, but it is not ideal. The reason is because addiction is not just a spiritual problem. Instead, addiction affects the whole entire person – physically, mentally, emotionally, and so on.

It therefore follows that any solution needs to be holistic in nature. Addiction affects us physically – so why would we ignore the physical component? Of course we should address the physical side of addiction, looking into things such as medications to help with cravings and also exercise as a means to sobriety.

Likewise, addiction affects us emotionally, so why should we not address our emotional health and balance in our lives? This only makes sense to treat the whole person in recovery, not just the spiritual side of things.

Many people like to simplify things in order to wrap their minds around the solution but overcoming addiction is more complicated than that. The solution is more than just spiritual; it is holistic, and therefore you must grow in many different areas of your life in order to succeed in recovery.

This is the whole point of the matter and if you really want some help for addiction then you need to take a creative approach to recovery.

Recovery is not spiritual. It is holistic. This includes spiritual growth and transcends it with a comprehensive holistic approach. Get more addiction tips here.

Life Coaching and How it Can Help You in Recovery

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Life coaching is a controversial topic when it comes to recovery.  Some people argue that a life coach is not a true professional, and is essentially acting like a “paid sponsor.”

These criticisms are unfounded based on what a life coach actually does for you.

The purpose of the life coach is not to give professional advice or even necessarily therapeutic counseling.  Instead, the life coach is there to unlock your creative potential from within and challenge you to rise to your full potential.

A life coach is not someone who walks you through detox.  In fact, the life coach isn’t really all that helpful for stage one recovery at all (when you are first getting clean and sober).  Instead, the life coach can really be beneficial to you when you are entering stage 2 recovery (when you are living holistic principles in long term recovery).

In essence, the life coach is most useful in helping you to make the transition into long term sobriety.  Their role is to push you to pursue personal growth on a number of different levels and to make genuine growth and progress in your recovery.

Life coaching is different from sponsorship in that sponsorship is basically restricted to spiritual growth, whereas life coaching takes a much broader approach in pushing for growth in a variety of areas.  In this way life coaching can be a very powerful tool for recovery.

A sponsor gets you sober, but a life coach keeps you sober.

Go here if you are interested in a free session with a reputable recovery life coach.  Keith is an excellent life coach and he specializes in addiction and recovery.

New Book – Recovering Me, Discovering Joy

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I just found a unique author with a good recovery book that seems to mirror a lot of my ideas about recovery.  Vivian talks about recovery from a real-world, practical standpoint and also incorporates overcoming depression and anxiety into her recovery efforts, something that I think a lot of addicts and alcoholics struggle with.

Vivian also focuses on practicing gratitude as part of a positive attitude in recovery.  This is very much in line with my personal philosophy of recovery as well.  I think eventually the question becomes for anyone in recovery: “OK, now how am I going to live a sober life?”

Eventually we move beyond that first stage of recovery where we are shocked just to be off the drugs and the booze.  We have to branch out and start growing in new directions and find a new life in recovery.  I think this is where my philosophy probably overlaps with Vivian’s.  We both push for a holistic and spiritual approach to long term recovery.

Vivian also has a free report that you can download instantly that has some good information about recovery and how to help struggling alcoholics as well.  You can check that out along with her recovery book right here.

Helping Drug Addicts Overcome Addiction

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Drug addicts overcome addiction through a process.

It starts back when they are still using drugs heavily, and their life is out of control.  The first hint of breaking through their denial starts tickling their brain.  Sometimes this takes decades of heavy abuse before someone reaches this point.

Eventually a moment of surrender is reached.  The addict throws in the towel and decides to give life another chance.  Now it is my belief that if this moment of surrender is real, that will basically be the end of their drinking and drugging.  In other words, the reason that people relapse with this disease is because they were not ready to quit drinking and drugging in the first place.

That’s why they call it “hitting bottom.”  It is a moment of finality; a complete and total surrender.  The addict is completely beaten.

Until they get to this point, you could never possibly list enough reasons to quit drinking, nor could you convince them that there is a wonderful life outside of drug addiction.  They simply won’t hear you, nor will they believe you.  That’s because they are trapped in denial….stuck on the hamster wheel, so to speak.  They can’t picture their life without drugs and alcohol.  Nor do they want to.  It’s just too scary.

How we can help people break through denial

Since I got clean and sober, I have been constantly seeking better information about how to help a drug addict.  I happen to work in a treatment center with a detox unit, and so I have definitely had a lot of practice at trying to help them, as I have helped to treat literally thousands of drug addicts over the past 4 years.  And let me tell you: it’s not easy.

One of the best ways to help an addict, believe it or not, is to <em>not</em> help them.  Or to be more specific, not enable them.  This means not helping them to get more drugs or alcohol or helping them avoid the natural consequences of their using.  In other words, you might have to let them fall on their face a bit in order to really “help” them.

Remember what the key is to overcoming addiction: that magical moment of surrender.  Without it, the addict is merely playing games…they might stay clean for a short while, but unless they have experienced utter devastation and truly surrendered with their whole being, they are not going to stay clean and sober.  So get out of their way and let them find their bottom, hard as that might be.  You might just be saving their life.

Also, be sure to check out this new recovering blogger on the scene, the recovery princess.  She is detailing her journey through sobriety; looks like good stuff. 

Overcoming Addiction with Your Spiritual Self

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How does spirituality affect our recovery?

Spirituality is the overall principle that can tie all of our recovery efforts together.  It is our attitude-shaper.

If we can connect with a higher power each day in a meaningful way, then our recovery will benefit because of it.  We can do this in a couple of general ways.  Keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to “old ideas” that you might have about what constitutes “spirituality.”  Instead, find your own path by trying the following:

1) Pray. If you don’t believe in prayer, you can always just focus on thoughts of gratitude for a while.

2) Meditate. Find your sanctuary and enjoy some peace and quiet time.  Sit in the stillness with your eyes closed and watch your mind.  Observe.  Don’t judge your thoughts and let them come as they will.

3) Connect with others by trying to help them and empower them.  In other words, don’t enable people, but genuinely help them to help themselves.  Bonus points if the person happens to be in recovery and you are helping them overcome addiction.

4) Be mindful throughout your day.  Watch your mind and your own reactions.  Be observant about how you are reacting to things.  Strive for peace and serenity.

5) Let go of dogma that rules your concept of spirituality and find your own spiritual self.  Notice what works and what brings peace into your life. Recovery is about finding a practical spirituality that works for you.

Focus on the Important Stuff in Early Recovery

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It’s important to focus on the important stuff in early recovery.

Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed with all sorts of different suggestions, that it can be difficult to prioritize in early recovery.

For example, you might get clean and sober and attend an AA or NA meeting.  There, you will most likely hear a LOT of suggestions for how to stay clean and work a proper recovery.

Some of the suggestions seem like they are conflicting though.  Everyone is genuinely trying to help you, and give you some good direction, but it can become overwhelming.  At the same time, one of their suggestions is to “keep it simple,” and another suggestion is “Easy does it.”  These phrases seem contradictory in the face of a complex program with dozens of suggested actions for you to take.  You might hear things like:

“Get a sponsor and call them every day for the first 30 days.”

“Start writing in the steps.”

“Get some recovery literature and read it every day.”

“Go to 90 meetings in 90 days and don’t use in between.”

And so on.  These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg, there are actually a lot more out there!  So how can we know exactly what we should be focusing on?  We need to find a way to prioritize.

<h3>The solution: focus on what is truly important</h3>

What you might want to do is sit down and figure out what is most important for YOU in YOUR recovery.

This will be a bit different for each person.  Then, write down the single most important thing for your recovery at the top of a sheet of paper.  When I did this exercise, I wrote down:

“Physical abstinence.”

That was the most important thing for my recovery today–to not pick up a drink or a drug.  That is number one for me.

Then, figure out what the second most important thing is for you.  For me, this happened to be “spiritual connection.”  So I try to do a few things each day to focus on this spiritual connection with my higher power, and thus cultivate that relationship.

You can keep going down the list and adding things in order of importance.  Some people might have “sponsorship” at the top of their list, whereas for me, that was down near the bottom (not so important).  It all depends on what you need to help YOU stay clean and sober.

For more information on this, you might want to check out how you should focus on your recovery.

Are Luxury Treatment Centers the Answer?

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A good question was posed as to whether or not California treatment centers offer any better odds of recovery based on the fact that they are basically luxury resorts.

One argument says that luxury treatment centers must certianly offer some advantages, simply due to the fact that you are dealing with more money, so that can offer a lot of solutions.  While money might not be able to fix anything and everything, here are some things that it can buy:

1) Longer stays at treatment

2) More one-on-one time with therapists or counselors

3) More specialized and individualized treatment

4) Wider treatment options, can accompany different modalities/philosophies

5) Better, and more comprehensive medical care at treatment centers

The question then, is this: do we really need a luxury treatment center in order to have these things?  Can we not incorporate these ideas into “traditional” treatment centers, without having costs spiral out of control?

What can we learn from luxury treatment centers?

My Personal Philosophy of Addiction and Recovery

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Here is an overview of some of the beliefs that I have sorted out in my first 7 years of recovery from addiction and alcoholism:

1) Addiction is complicated. It is a complete mess, and turns your life into a complete mess.  We don’t become addicted overnight.  Addiction is complicated.  Therefore, recovery is necessarily complicated as well.

2) You need a replacement strategy. I was passionate about using drugs and alcohol, so I need to find passion in my life in recovery to replace that with.  Anything less will cause me to relapse.  Why be bored with life, when you could potentially return to the ups and downs of active addiction?  We need to find passion in recovery.

3) Those who find long term success in recovery actively create a new life for themselves.  This is more than just working steps and abstaining from chemicals and growing spiritually.  It is purposeful living with growth and momentum.

4) The treatment industry is broken, and needs something to supercharge it.  Everything we know about treating addiction is wrong.  There is nothing wrong with the 12 step model, but the way we implement it is clearly failing for the vast majority.  Young people in particular need something new and fresh in recovery.  We can do better.

Just my 2 cents of course.  Anyone have any thoughts on these ideas?  Let us know in the comments!

How to Choose the Right Drug or Alcohol Treatment Center

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How can you best choose the right drug or alcohol treatment center?

This is a common question for anyone that is thinking about going to treatment, and it’s also a big question for the family of a struggling addict or alcoholic. How can someone choose the right treatment center so that they can insure that they will stay clean and sober?

There are a few issues you will want to consider here:

What level of treatment does the addict or alcoholic need? Some people need a medically supervised detox, while others do not. This will depend a bit on what substance or substances are being used. For example, alcohol poses a serious threat when it comes to detox, so that will definitely need to be medically supervised. Opiate drugs such as heroin or Vicodin will generally need a medical detox as well. Keep in mind that not all treatment facilities have a full medical detox. Knowing what level of care you need will obviously be a key point in your research.

Is this any different from previous treatment centers? A surprising number of addicts and alcoholics go to treatment and then relapse shortly after leaving. What’s really shocking is that many of these people continue to go back to the same treatment center, clearly blaming themselves for failing to stay clean and sober. This is a tricky argument here, but I can assure you it is valid: if you keep failing with one treatment center, why not try somewhere else? Likewise, if you go to several different treatment centers for short term residential stays, why not try going to long term treatment instead? This is a concept that is thoroughly endorsed in AA as well: “insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try going back to treatment again. But it does mean that you might want to try a different drug treatment center, or even a completely different approach (for example, short term versus long term treatment).

Will this treatment center save someone that doesn’t want help? The answer to that question is no, which means that no treatment can help this particular person in their journey (yet). Unfortunately, no one can beat an addict or alcoholic into submission, and no treatment center can convince an addict to want to stay clean. Sometimes the best you can do is offer to help someone and then get out of their way.

A corollary to this idea is this:

“When someone is truly ready to get clean and sober, it doesn’t matter what treatment center you take them to.”

In other words, the success rate of the recovering alcoholic or addict is heavily dependent on their personal convictions, not on the strength of their chosen treatment program.

This can easily be confirmed to be true by interviewing a handful of successful recovering addicts and alcoholics. Simply ask them about the treatment center or method by which they got clean, and ask them which was more important: “That they were truly done using drugs and alcohol, and desperately wanted to change,” OR “That they found the perfect treatment center that somehow worked a miracle in them.”

I can guarantee that it’s personal conviction and level of surrender.

Treating Addiction – Why are Treatment Centers so Expensive?

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Treating addiction is expensive. Period.

Actually staying in a drug rehab costs a lot of money, simply because it is essentially a health care facility similar to hospital. If the rehab offers detoxification services (and most do) then these will be medically supervised by nurses and possibly even doctors which will only add to the higher cost.

But the high cost of treating addiction goes further than this. It’s expensive to treat because addiction is so complicated.

For example, many addicts and alcoholics have co-occurring disorders–a mental illness diagnosis of some sort along side of their chemical addiction. Helping this type of person to recover from addiction will usually involve treating their mental illness as well. This drives the cost of treatment up even further, as psychiatric counseling and any necessary medications are not going to come cheap.

Not only is it expensive, but the financial implications with treating addiction and alcoholism are getting worse in the following ways:

1) Treatment services are becoming more expensive – as the cost of health care in general continues to rise.

2) Insurance companies become less and less willing each year to pay the cost of treatment.

3) Insurance companies are only willing to fund shorter treatment stays, which are proving less effective, requiring more visits in the future and ultimately costing more.

4) State funding for treatment is gradually being reduced over time.

You have to give credit to AA and 12 step fellowships. While they may not have the medical facilities necessary to safely detox an alcoholic, many people have skipped going to formal treatment centers entirely and made their way to a successful sobriety through the use of AA alone. Given that it is essentially “free” (self supporting through their own contributions), a person could feasible stay clean and sober without ever spending a single dime on their recovery, simply through the use of meetings.

What makes this even more maddening is that the success rates are very close when comparing treatment centers to AA. When looking at the success and failures in recovery, it almost seems like the initial stay in rehab was inconsequential. Long term sobriety rates point to the fact that it really doesn’t matter how you got clean, it matters how you stay clean. Rehab is short term, but sobriety has to last for a lifetime.